I say this as a big fan of the 1956 film. I have nothing against remakes, some are great, some are good, some are bad, some are downright awful. Fortunately Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1978) is one of the truly great ones, one of those rarities that not just lives up to the original film but almost beats it.

The only reason why it doesn't quite is because the 1956 film does more with the change of the townsfolk. That said, it is a very well made film, with the special effects enhancing the mood rather than distracting from it and the scenery and cinematography striking. The make up is also outstanding.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers also has a strong score that just adds to the tension and suspense, a compelling story especially the ending, in fact for me I marginally preferred the ending here, the dialogue is intelligent and well-delivered and the direction is very fine.

There is some great acting too. Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams are strong leads, while Jeff Goldblum steals the scenes he appears in. Overall, a great film and worthy remake. Anybody who has not seen the Invasion with Craig and Kidman, it may be a good idea to keep it that way. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Sometimes it's a real pleasure to re-watch a childhood favourite and find out that it holds up just as well today as it did when you first saw it in your rose-tinted memories. Well, guess what, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is just one of those pleasures, a truly terrifying alien invasion flick that offers first-rate suspense. In fact, I can fairly say this is the most claustrophobic, suspenseful, paranoid, conspiracy-style movie I've had the enjoyment of watching; no other film exactly matches the rising hysteria and the sense that your neighbours are out to kill you. Sure, the movie is slow-paced by today's standards, but that adds to the realism and the sense that you're watching a slice of everyday life unfold, albeit with a major twist.

The movie is a remake of the good 1956 original and '50s star Kevin McCarthy has a wonderful cameo as pretty much the same character. The first thing you notice when you watch the film is that it isn't dated at all; the script is refreshingly true-to-life and the characters are normal, everyday modern people. Director Kaufman offers up excellent camera-work and editing to highlight the brooding suspense and deepening chaos without ever going over the top, even in the pyrotechnic climax. The casting too, is top-notch; the major players are a carefully-assembled group of unconventionals who find themselves banded together against alien evil. Tall, gangly Donald Sutherland is all bug-eyes and heroism and looks like he stepped straight off the set of DON'T LOOK NOW; Brooke Adams is all wide-eyes and fragile feminine beauty. Then there's the always kooky Jeff Goldblum in a first major performance, possibly even weirder than we're used to; whilst Veronica Cartwright displays the screaming credentials which earned her a part on board ALIEN.

One of the film's most inspired pieces of casting is in Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy as a psychologist doctor, a really creepy character at that. Then there are the little things that make this film hold together so well: the continuity being immaculate (see the kicking the pod sequence for an explanation of this) and the weird, pulsing sound effects and dodgy music. Special effects are underused and work so well as a result; they're ace and the stuff of nightmares, and definitely scared the heck out of this reviewer at the tender age of 12 or so. The culmination of all this great stuff is an awesome movie that stands the test of time as THE greatest alien invasion flick there is – Spielberg should have tried watching this when he made his pointless and overblown WAR OF THE WORLDS remake.

Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) is a health inspector in San Francisco. Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) is a lab tech in the health department but she finds her husband has changed. Nobody believes her. Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) tries to explain it all away with some psychobabble. That is until friends Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum) and Nancy Bellicec (Veronica Cartwright) sees something shocking.

This has some slow spots. But when Kevin McCarthy comes banging on the windshield, this movie really starts. That is great moment that references one of the most iconic scenes in movie history. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful scene from this movie. It still has its problems. Nimoy's character was revealed too early. The pacing do drag too much. Sutherland's character is too willfully blind for too long. Basically the audience knows too much and too far ahead of the characters. It's a balancing act that they fail to maintain.